Research Scientist Apprentice Review

by Thames Water

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

8.2/10

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

Designing experiments, Managing the progress of your projects, collecting data, analysing data, reporting and presenting. Safety, collaboration, innovation and scientific integrity are involved in every bit of work you do.

10/10

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

Many new skills have been developed. Mainly: Project management, innovation strategies, collaboration, reporting techniques and experiment design.

9/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

Its honestly great. There was an adjustment period and a few bumps on the way, but all in all its awesome.

9/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

It was/is a relatively new programme, hence the path is slightly fuzzy... This worked in my favour as I was able to carve the path I wanted, but it did put extra pressure on me towards the start.

6/10

5. How much support do you receive from your employer?

To put it vaguely, some people are better at supporting than others. However, on a team level, everyone is great and happy to help. Sometimes it is difficult to express challenges or concerns without traversing the bureaucracy, but there has been an improvement since the start.

8/10

6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

They tick the boxes for the most part, and I think others have it much worse -- but this is definitely the weak end of the apprenticeship program. To put it bluntly, the training provider is doing this for the extra cash, and don't really care beyond that.

5/10

7. How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

I study chemical engineering and am constantly surprised by how well the knowledge gained at uni complements my work. Despite the unis shortfalls, this is great.

10/10

8. Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

There can be. This entirely depends on you, and the team you are part of. There's plenty for me though.

9/10

9a. Would you recommend Thames Water to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

Good company benefits, GREAT PEOPLE, good development opportunities

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Thames Water?

Give it a go and use the recruitment process to decide whether it is right for you. This role suits someone who is a proactive 'go-getter'.